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Paper short abstract:

This study explores accountability and responsibility in UK water governance by comparing public and private ownership models. It examines their sustainability implications amid climate change and investigates water resource mismanagement to understand political action in the sector better.

Paper long abstract:

As climate change and resource mismanagement intensify, the global water crisis now affects the Global South and countries in the Global North. In the UK, all four nations face growing water scarcity risks, exposing critical tensions between water as a human right and an economic good. These tensions are particularly pronounced in England and Wales, where privatised water management raises questions about where accountability and responsibility should lie—government bodies or private water companies.

This research addresses a critical gap in the political ecology literature by examining how accountability and responsibility in water governance are distributed across different ownership models in the UK. At the current data collection and analysis stage, preliminary findings suggest that under private ownership, responsibility and accountability remain in flux between government bodies and private water companies, often prompting political intervention. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study compares England and Wales (private ownership) with Scotland and Northern Ireland (public ownership). It employs Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyse parliamentary debate transcripts and corporate reports, alongside semi-structured interviews with corporate and government officials, to offer a multi-faceted perspective on water governance.

This study critically examines the implications of differing governance paradigms on water sustainability by interrogating the UK's response to water scarcity. It seeks to contribute to ongoing debates around the balance of public and private responsibility in water management. It offers insights into how countries can navigate growing water challenges in an era of climate uncertainty.